There are currently on the market different elements that allow building electrical circuits, the best known being mechanisms provided with a printed circuit and different types of cables, such as parallel cables or flexible flat cables.
The flexible flat cable or FFC cable is widely known in the world of electronics and consists of a type of flexible printed circuit. The cable is usually made of a flat and flexible plastic film, of fixed length, with multiple metal conductors attached to a surface; the flat cable comprises at its ends plastic reinforcements provided with contacts which form rigid plugs designed to connect the FFC cable into electronic or computer equipment.
Some prior art information on this type of flexible flat cables is described in CN 201319426 Y (TIANRUI ELECTRONICS SHENZHEN C) and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,435 A (STIPANUK JOHN M et al.).
These flat cables present characteristics that make them especially suitable for the internal connection of electronic or computer equipment or, as specified in Patent CN201319426, for the connection of a high-definition multimedia interface; however, they do not have adequate characteristics to perform external or surface installations, household or industrial, involving electricity, signals and/or data, due to its high flexibility and the need to incorporate a rigid pin in its ends that will provide the stiffness necessary for its connection to any device.
The printed circuit or PCB (Printed Circuit Board) consists of a surface comprising tracks of conductive material, laminated on a non-conductive base. The printed circuit is usually used to electrically connect a set of electronic components through the conductive tracks and mechanically sustain said electronic components by means of the base.
These tracks are generally made of copper while the base is made of reinforced fiberglass, ceramic, plastic, Teflon or polymers such as Bakelite.
Both the flexible flat cable and the printed circuit have a specific application in the world of electronics.
In household as well as in industrial installations, other types of conductors are used which consist of cables, generally made of copper and with a larger section, sheathed separately in an insulating material and joined throughout their entire length by an external tubular cover.
The installation of this type of cables is usually embedded for aesthetic reasons, and requires the intervention of various professionals.
The realization of installations with these cables requires connecting them with various mechanisms (plugs, switches, splices, etc.). It is necessary to strip the ends of the cables to be connected, open said mechanisms, insert the stripped wires in the connection terminals of the mechanism and fix them in said position by tightening screws or other similar elements, and finally closing the mechanism already connected.
This operation is particularly slow and complex, in particular for end users who do not have specific knowledge in carrying out electrical, signal, data or any other type of installations.
Patent ES 2 046 149 describes a system for the integral electrification of residential buildings based on: two types of belts for the supply of electrical energy, each of which contains certain circuits with flexible conductors made of copper and comprising a dielectric and protective cover for a minimum of 500 volts; a transmission-reception belt model of high and low frequency signals for electronic equipment with parallel and coaxial copper conductors isolated from interferences; and some pressure connection strips for each type of belt. These belts have a variable cross section, depending on the thickness of the conductors integrated therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,547,718 discloses a method for manufacturing flat flexible electric cables, one of which is a cable with a plurality of parallel conductors coated on one side with a self-supporting and continuous insulating film; and coated on the other side, discontinuously, with an insulating material, said second side comprising transverse areas spaced longitudinally, in which the conductors are exposed.
Said transversal areas are arranged in correspondence with the cutting areas of the cable, and spaced according to the length of the cable to be manufactured.
Also known are the mechanisms that have metallic contacts acting simultaneously as retention springs of the conductors inserted inside them.
The drawback of these contacts is that they are made of a metal with suitable characteristics for acting as an electrical conductor, but unsuitable for acting as a retention spring, since the memory effect of the retention spring is reduced when a small number of connections and disconnections of a conductor cable are made, the mechanism thus providing a defective contact with the connecting cable.
An example of this type of contact-retention spring is described in US Patent 2012252260 A1 (TSENG TING CHANG et al.)
Therefore, the technical problem that arises is the development of a connection system for electrical installations, signal and/or data, usable both for household and industrial applications, which can be used in the realization of installations by end users as well as professionals who need a quick and cheap installation without major undertakings.